Raining Chances
by Seven-Bridges
Summary: What started out as an obsession developed into something more. What will Zoro do if the sexy blonde brings nothing but trouble into his life? AU, ZoSan
1. Chapter 1

**Raining Chances**

He was there. He was _always_ there.

Always standing in the same spot, at the same time, next to the sign of the bus stop, a cigarette dangling from soft lips and shoulders slouching as he stared into nothingness.

At least, those lips looked as if they were soft. It wasn't as if he had touched them before to know for sure.

What surely couldn't be soft, were those long legs and slender hips. They looked to be strong, _incredibly_ strong and he caught himself wishing for those legs to be wrapped around his body.

He wanted them to encase his waist tightly enough to be bruising as he thrust up into that sweet, tight ass. Again and again, sweating bodies would be moving together until none of them knew where the other ended or began.

That's what he wanted... what he _always_ wanted when he saw that blonde man standing forlorn at the bus stop.

But it wasn't all he wanted. No, there was more... _much_ more than that.

He wanted to know where the bus would take the blonde, where he always came from and why he was always there at the same time.

Did he have a job or was he still studying? Why did he always look that damn tired when he waited? What was he thinking about?

It wasn't like him to ask that many questions. He wasn't the noisy type who pried into other people's business.

But still, this guy intrigued him, made him curious enough to haunt him even at night.

He wanted nothing more than to go over there, introduce himself and see where it would go.

It wasn't that easy, though. Not in the kind of world he lived in.

What if the blonde didn't share his interest? What if he was disgusted by people like him?

Those kind of thoughts were too much to bear and so, he had decided to be a coward for once and to keep watching the blonde from afar. He had a hiding place around the corner of a building, his bike standing next to him as he looked around the corner, taking in his strong yet graceful body and making sure that he entered the bus safely each time.

That was the usual routine but today, one thing was different.

Rain poured down, soaking the blonde to the bone as he waited near the sign. Other people had long since gone to seek protection in some other place, leaving him to wait alone.

He was wearing nothing more than a white dress shirt and black trousers, the clothes hugging his body tightly enough that every muscle could be seen through that shirt.

The blonde was looking up at the sky as water ran down his skin, his hair still covering one side of his face as droplets fell from those golden locks.

Then he looked down and rubbed his arms, shivering visibly as a strong gust of wind hit his slender body. A sigh that could even be heard by the man watching him, escaped those soft looking lips and then, the blonde was suddenly moving, walking right in the direction of the other's hiding place.

With determination shining in that one visible eye, the blonde came to a stop right in front of his observer, smirking in a way that made knees buckle and staring at the other man without saying a word as they continued to be drenched by the rain. Blue met brown and held the gaze in place, the smirk turning cheekier with every second.

Then the blonde cocked his head slightly and the two droplets of water that fell from his hair to land on his collarbone.

As if in a trance, the other man reached out and touched the drops' landing place with gentle fingers, the blonde's smile immediately turning soft at the touch.

"M-My name is Zoro. Do you want a ride?"

And thus, a new story began.

**The End**

* * *

_This is the end for now but I'm thinking about turning it into a (still short) multi-part story once I've finished some other stuff.  
_

_The first part of the Halloween fic should be out in time, too.  
_

_Thanks for reading!_**  
**


	2. Chapter 2

___As you can see, I decided to turn this into a multi-part story. Chapters will be short, so I won't make you wait as long again._

_And xiggymatsu kindly agreed to be my beta-reader from now on, so you will have less mistakes to live with XD_

_There will be drama, action and angst in this as well as (hopefully) some sexiness._

_Enjoy! :)_

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Freezing rain soaked his clothes, making his body feel chilled like ice. Shivers ran down his spine while his eyes wandered over the blonde's body, stopping only at those incredible eyes that held his gaze.

The blonde was waiting for him to speak, his stare so intense that warmth spread inside of his numb body.

Zoro had never been a person who liked to approach others. He had never sought out the presence of another, and even the relationships he had in his life so far had all been initiated by the other party.

It wasn't as if he was shy or antisocial.

He just didn't see the sense in starting new relationships. There had been a great deal of partings in his life already, and what was the point in even trying when the only result would be pain?

His parents, his friends; losing them all had hurt too much. The pain had scarred his soul... enough even that he had begun to hide in the dark and watched a guy he was interested in from afar.

This time, though, things were different. The unthinkable had happened: the blonde had approached him, nailing him down with such amazing eyes.

Zoro was captivated, _taken_ by that look. He was completely unable to walk away, to go on with his life like he had done all those times before.

No, this time, he was taking a chance.

"I-I'm Zoro. Do you want a ride?" Zoro heard himself ask, his voice not much more than a whisper in the rain. But the blonde nodded anyway.

Little droplets of rain fell once again on pale skin and Zoro had to swallow hard. The urge to follow more water running down that body, to touch exposed skin and what was hidden beneath clothes... it was way too strong.

But before Zoro could even blink, the blond man had passed him, grabbed the helmet Zoro usually kept on his bike for a friend, and swung one of his long legs over the machine.

"I'm Sanji," the blonde said and fastened the helmet on his head in the same breath. "Don't you want to get on too...? _Zoro_?"

The sound of his name on those lips nearly stopped Zoro's heart for a moment. The blonde's- no, _Sanji's_ voice, sped up his heartbeat, making him feel the strong thump even inside his throat.

Whatever he had expected, whatever he had imagined: Sanji was much, _much_ more attractive than that.

That voice alone did things to his insides, he hadn't ever experienced before.

The rain thankfully cooling down his heated face, Zoro nodded and put on his own helmet before sitting down in front of Sanji on his bike.

Sanji immediately put his arms around Zoro's waist and held on tight.

"You're being awful friendly to a stranger like me," Zoro said as Sanji laid his head on his back and closed his eyes. Startled by the sudden act of familiarity, Zoro tensed further.

"You're not a stranger, Zoro. Judging from the amount of time you've watched me, you probably know me better than anyone else," said Sanji's soft voice.

"You noticed..." Zoro whispered.

"Of course. Even when I didn't see your face, I've always felt your eyes on me."

"You never said anything."

Sanji's smiled behind him. "I was curious about when you would make a move. And it was thrilling to be watched like that. To be _wanted _in that way."

Zoro bit his lip and looked down. Fortunately, his helmet was hiding his face. This painfully obvious flirting was a bit overwhelming after such a long time of just watching and never touching.

"Don't you... want to start?" said a whisper right next to his ear, stopping his heart for a moment. "The engine, Zoro."

"O-Of course. Where do-" Zoro cleared his throat. "Where do you live?"

"I don't want to go home," the reply came and, surprised, Zoro turned his head.

"What?"

Sanji looked up at him, startling Zoro with the sudden closeness of their faces. "Let me stay with you for a while..."

"But-"

"Please, Zoro." There was an urgency in Sanji's voice that made Zoro unable to say 'no'.

"You're trusting me? I could be a serial killer for all you know."

"No, you aren't," Sanji said with a smile. "I'm a pretty good judge of character. And I can take care of myself, anyway."

Zoro hesitated for a moment but then he faced forward and cranked the engine. "Fine. My place it is."

* * *

When they arrived at the small apartment at the edge of town, Zoro fumbled with his keys for a bit before he managed to open the door and let Sanji in.

"Nice..." Sanji said as he entered the one-room apartment.

Zoro raised an eyebrow as Sanji looked around with a smile.

He had gotten most of his furniture from other people who didn't need it any more. His couch had a big tear and nothing in the apartment fit together. There was a fist-sized hole in his wall and even the wallpapers were older than Zoro.

"You think this is _nice_?"

Sanji smiled back. "I'm living on my boss's couch. An apartment like this would be paradise for me."

"But... if you have a boss then you must have a job. Can't you afford your own place?" said Zoro with a deep frown.

"I owe someone money. I've to save anything I've got."

"Loan sharks?"

"More like... someone from the past," Sanji said with the slightest bit of hesitation. "Say, could I use your shower? I'm rather cold from the rain."

"Y-Yeah, sure! It's- well, there's only one room, so it's impossible to get lost."

"Who would get lost in an apartment?"

"Don't ask," Zoro replied with a grimace, then he looked at Sanji again and his eyes widened. "W-What are you doing?"

Sanji stopped unbuttoning his shirt and frowned at Zoro. "I'm taking off my clothes. Why do you ask?"

"Y-You shouldn't do that here! Go into the bathroom!"

"Why? There's more space here..."

"Just go in there!" Zoro said and shoved him into the direction of the door. "I'll go and see if I got a few clothes that fit you."

Sanji went to the door, laying his hand on the frame as he turned back to look at Zoro. "You won't be joining me then? You're pretty wet too... _Zoro_."

Heat gathering in his face, Zoro turned around quickly. "Go and shower already! I'll go after you!"

"Pity," said Sanji and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Zoro went to the cupboard to search for some clothes.

* * *

After ten minutes, Sanji emerged from the bathroom dripping wet with a small towel around his hips, but was immediately pushed back inside.

"Dry yourself properly!" Zoro said and pressed some clothes into Sanji's arms. "And wear that, alright? It's the smallest I was able to find." Then he shut the door behind the blonde and leaned his back against it, heaving a heavy sigh.

"You know, for a perverted stalker you sure are a prude," came Sanji's muffled voice out of the bathroom.

"Just get dressed, alright?" Zoro replied through gritted teeth.

"Yes, sir!"

Not wanting to risk anything, Zoro had already changed his clothes and planned to take a shower later when Sanji was already sleeping.

He wasn't an idiot and it was painfully obvious that the blonde had certain expectations as to how this night would go.

But Zoro had other plans.

There was something different about Sanji... he wasn't quite like Zoro had imagined him to be. It wasn't as if he had placed him on a pedestal or anticipated a perfect human being... no, he had expected him to have some flaws.

Still, Sanji had always appeared to be the sort of person who had both feet on the ground, someone who lived a decent life and was _happy_.

Now that he had spoken with his object of affection for a bit, Zoro had a different impression of him.

He didn't seem to care about his life.

Sanji had gone with a stranger to his home, blatantly flirted with him and didn't appear to mind if he got hurt in the process.

The little he had told Zoro about his life didn't seem all too nice. Sleeping on the couch of his boss and owing someone money... most likely someone brutal who would do anything to get what he wanted.

Running a hand through his hair, Zoro went over to his couch and sat down.

Sanji was still a mystery to him, one he had to figure out before trying to deepen their relationship.

Not that waiting for that time would be easy.

A sound behind Zoro announced that Sanji had opened the bathroom door and was coming out. Turning his head slowly, the words Zoro wanted to say died in his throat as he stared at the blonde wearing his oversized clothes.

With a boyish grin, Sanji looked over at him and played with the hem of Zoro's shirt that nearly reached down to his knees.

All of his pants had been too wide and so Zoro had given Sanji a pair of his old boxers. Thanks to the length of the shirt, they completely vanished below it, giving Sanji the appearance of being naked underneath.

Swallowing hard, Zoro opened his mouth to say something but no words came out again.

"Like it, huh?" Sanji asked, cocking his head. "You know, I wouldn't mind walking around naked, either. I'm very comfortable with my body."

"I'm sure you are," Zoro mumbled and coughed as his voice didn't exactly sound like his own. "Do you- do you want something to drink?"

His eyes lighting up, Sanji looked over to Zoro's open-plan kitchen. "Oh, can I make something to eat? I'm a cook, you know."

"You are?" Zoro asked. "I don't mind, but... I don't have much in the house. I mostly eat out, so I never need a lot of ingredients."

"Doesn't matter. I can cook a high-class menu even out of leftovers."

Zoro frowned as he watched Sanji go into his kitchen. The thought of cooking seemed to have made him a lot happier.

"You like cooking?"

"There is nothing I love more!" Sanji answered as he rummaged through Zoro's cupboards. "I rarely get the chance to make something I like, though. The restaurant I'm working at has a complete menu and the shitty old geezer won't let me create something of my own. He says I'm still wet behind the ears, that bastard."

"And the geezer is...?"

"My boss. The one where I'm sleeping at most of the time. He really gets on my nerves."

"Most of the time? Then you spend the night elsewhere too?"

"Yeah, at my friends' houses," Sanji replied. "I don't really like staying in one place all the time, so I'm always changing houses. Everyone likes my cooking so they don't mind me staying for a while. This time, though, I needed something different."

"Different how?"

Sanji grinned. "Well, I'd hoped for a round of hot sex, but I hadn't expected my stalker to be such a shy lamb."

A blush appearing on his cheeks, Zoro turned his head to look at the black screen of his TV.

What _he_ hadn't expected was this shameless side to Sanji.

If the blonde went on like that, then Zoro would be lucky to survive the night.

"Say, what made you start watching me, anyway?" Sanji asked after a quick look into Zoro's fridge. "Other than my good looks, I mean."

"Confident, are we?"

"I call it being realistic," said Sanji simply and closed the fridge.

Zoro scratched his chin. "Hmm, what made me start..." he said thoughtfully. "The way you have behaved towards other people, I suppose. You've offered others your seat on the bench, even though you were tired yourself... and one time, you even gave your umbrella to a mother with a child and got drenched that way."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that," Sanji said. "The poor kid was coughing so bad... but why have you been there in the first place?"

"That's my friend's fault," Zoro replied with a sigh. "Ace has this habit of falling asleep at his job and his boss always calls me to pick him up."

"He falls asleep while _working_?"

"Yeah, well... if that amazes you already, then you should see him sleeping in a bowl of soup."

Sanji laughed, "That guy sounds interesting! You have to introduce me sometime."

"Never," Zoro replied immediately.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because Ace is a slut and his brother has an empty hole for a stomach," Zoro explained. "I introduce you and they'll steal you away in no time."

"Ah, then you don't like to share?"

Zoro snorted. "Of course not."

"Well, then you should make sure to satisfy me, _Zoro._" Zoro nearly jumped when Sanji's voice suddenly whispered his name into his ear. "If you don't want me to run away, that is."

Like the touch of a feather, Sanji kissed the place directly beneath Zoro's ear and that strange flutter appeared inside Zoro's stomach again.

"Want some pancakes?" Sanji asked.

"W-What?"

"Pancakes! Those flat cake things, you can eat with jam, chocolate or other toppings?" Sanji said with a sudden rush of energy as he pushed himself up from the couch's backrest. "Well, you've only got a bit of jam left but beggars can't be choosers."

"You're killing me, you know?" said Zoro. He rubbed the back of his neck, his fingers wandering to the place where Sanji had kissed him seconds before. His skin was still tingling there.

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to hold back and you're doing everything to seduce me," Zoro explained.

"Well, you can't blame me. I came with you for a good fuck with a hot guy, after all."

Taking a deep breath, Zoro asked, "But... is that really what you want?"

Silence fell and surprised at the lack of cocky replies, Zoro turned around to look at Sanji.

The blonde was staring at him, his mouth half-opened. "...that's odd."

"What is?"

"You asking me... what I really want," said Sanji slowly. "No one has ever done that before and I've never thought about it, either. Everything was just... planned, you know?"

"Planned?"

Sanji shook his head. "It's a long story. I just didn't have any other option than following a certain path and, when I met you that just seemed like another step down that road. I've never really had a chance to think about what I actually want."

"Well, then you can think about it now," Zoro said. "What _do_ you want, Sanji?"

After a short moment, Sanji said, "Pancakes."

"What?"

"I really want some pancakes. For now," Sanji said with wide eyes and then suddenly rushed back to the kitchen, taking out all the ingredients he needed to make the tasty cake things.

Zoro looked after him with a raised eyebrow.

What he had told him about his life, that everything was planned out... didn't that sound like the words of a rich boy? Yet Sanji was in debt, so he couldn't possibly be rich.

Did his debt tie him down so much that he wasn't able to live his life like he wanted to?

But what would that have to do with him spending nights at strangers' places? And who was that guy Sanji owed money to, anyway?

Minutes later, Zoro's thoughts were interrupted by a delicious smell filling his home and with the first bite of the tastiest pancakes he would probably ever eat inside his life, Zoro forgot all about the mysteries concerning the blonde.

Until he had to face them in the morning.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Next chapter:**_ Guns and trouble! Who are the men in black?_

_So, that's it. Thankfully, this story is loosening my knot a bit, so hopefully I will be able to update my other stories soon as well._

_Thank you for reading and please take the time to review :)_

_Seven_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey there, everyone!_

_Keeping it short this time: Rating changed to M due to the story screaming for some smut at some point.  
_

_There is a sort of Detective Conan reference because I couldn't help it and the chapter is beta'ed again by xiggymatsu._

_Enjoy! :)  
_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**  
_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Knock, knock, knock-_

Zoro groaned as he woke up. Raising his head slightly, he used the pillow beneath it to cover his ears. It drowned out _some_ of the annoying knocks, but from the place where his bed stood he heard an equally pissed off voice.

"Zoro, the door! Visitors," it groaned.

Zoro needed a few seconds to remember who that voice belonged to. Slowly, all of his memory came back and reminded him of previous events... how Sanji had come home with him the night before, making him feel incredibly alive but also extremely frustrated. Even now, he still felt his heart speeding up whenever he remembered Sanji's overt flirting.

After their meaningful conversation, they had eaten the pancakes Sanji made and then Zoro took out some of the good bottles he had gotten from Franky for his last birthday. It took quite a bit to make Zoro drunk and, knowing that, Franky had gotten him a very special brand.

The bottles weren't labelled and his friends had speculated quite a bit about the ingredients. Franky had told him that the liquid was "super" for once and, more importantly in Zoro's opinion, very, very _strong_.

Sanji hadn't had much to drink but Zoro downed a whole bottle before he passed out on the couch. Not exactly the most enjoyable way to end a "first date" but at least he hadn't been exposed to further flirtations.

When the knocking became more persistent, Zoro sat up and groaned again as a piercing pain exploded inside his skull. Hangover... right.

After dragging himself up, Zoro scratched his stomach through his shirt and yawned as he walked.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Dammit!" he said to the door.

More out of habit than caution by now, Zoro looked through the spy hole to see who stood in front. His eyes widened as he saw his so-called guests.

That... didn't look good.

Two men completely dressed in black waited in front of his door. Both wore the same kind of cheap suit and had a matching set of sunglasses perched on their noses. Zoro looked down as far as he could and spotted two bulges under those jackets, and not even the kind Ace would make jokes about.

"Fuck," Zoro said quietly. He only knew one kind of person who dressed like that and had a face that made children cry at sight. If only he hadn't called out before... thanks to that, they had to know he was there. But what did they want from him? Had his cover been blown?

After clearing his voice, Zoro took a deep breath and said loudly, "Wait a moment! I have to get dressed first."

He had to get out of there! There was no need to think about their reason when he could very well be dead in a few minutes.

Quietly, he went over to his bed where Sanji was already sleeping again. Ignoring the damn flutter in his chest, Zoro shook his shoulder. "Sanji, Oi! Wake up!"

Sanji groaned as he stirred. "W-Wha-? Zoro?"

"You have to get up, dammit! There are two guys with guns in front of the door!"

Suddenly completely awake, Sanji shot up. "Guns? Shit! Not again!"

"Not again? What the hell-"

Sanji jumped up, grabbing Zoro's arms while kneeling on the bed. "Do you have a back door?"

"Back door? Sanji, this is the second floor!"

Sitting back down again, Sanji held his head. "Right... right. Shit! They can't find me here!"

"Wait, they're here for you?! What's going on here?"

"My debt. Those people are... I think they're collectors," Sanji said, his voice strangely thick at the end.

"Seriously?! Shit, those guys look like they could be Yakuza, Sanji! What sort of man did you borrow money from?!"

"Yakuza is pretty close," Sanji mumbled. "I didn't have much of a choice, alright? It's... complicated."

"What can be so complicated about-"

Another, now even stronger knock interrupted Zoro. The whole door shook because of the pressure and it wouldn't be long until the men in front of it had lost their patience.

"Alright, this isn't the time to be arguing," Zoro said. "What will they do if they get you?"

Sanji evaded his eyes. "I don't have the money, so they'll probably take me to their boss."

"And then?"

"Then I'll have to work for him. It always ends like that."

Work... that couldn't be good. There were only so many things they could make Sanji do and most of them were neither legal nor pleasant.

"What... kind of work?"

"Well, the boss owns a few host clubs. Whenever I don't have the money to pay the rate, he sends me there and sometimes..."

"Sometimes?"

Sanji took a deep breath. "Sometimes a bit more."

"Do you..." Zoro swallowed hard, his chest clenching painfully. "You don't have to prostitute yourself, right?"

"Not until now, but they said that the host club won't bring enough money any more. I already had to strip a few times but nothing more. I didn't like it either way."

"That's why you wanted to sleep here? To run away from those guys?"

"More or less. I should have the money by the end of next week and wanted to avoid them until then. But I didn't think they would find me here... someone must have seen me entering your place," Sanji said and stood up from the bed. "Look, I don't want to trouble you. I'll just go with them and be out of your hair."

Zoro stared at him.

Letting him go would certainly be the easiest option. He barely knew Sanji, knew nothing about his problems and getting mixed up in all of this would definitely mean the end of the quiet life he had so arduously build up.

But wouldn't letting him go be the same thing as giving up? Didn't he take Sanji to his place because he was done running away? Done escaping anything at all that could mean something in his life?

Didn't he take this chance because it could end up being great?

"Don't you want to get away from them?" Zoro heard himself ask, the words leaving his mouth before he had even formed them inside his mind.

"More than anything, but it isn't that easy," Sanji answered. "Joker is too powerful to escape from."

"Joker? Like the one from Batman?"

Sanji laughed. "Close enough but no. Joker as in the guy from Joker Industries."

"What? The confectionery manufacturer? That's the big, bad guy?"

"Well, the sweets are his front. And a really good one at that. But in reality, he's doing much more than that," Sanji said. "He is the boss of Japan's underworld, going as far as owning most of the Japanese Mafia."

"He _owns_ the Yakuza?!"

Sanji nodded. "Do you get it now? I've no choice but to go with them."

Nearly everything in Zoro screamed to run, screamed to just let it go and try to find his luck somewhere else.

But still...!

"How much do you have left to pay?"

Looking down, Sanji rubbed the back of his neck. "The interest keeps rising and- and I can't pay it off like this. Not by normal means. The rates are always going up, too."

"Then what?" Zoro asked, the screams inside his mind now louder than ever. Run. Run. _Run! _"Do you want to go on like this? Doing more and more dirty work for that guy?"

"What choice do I have, Marimo? It's friggin' Al Capone I have to deal with!"

All thoughts stopped for a moment at one single word. "Marimo? Did you really just call me a ball of moss?"

"That one slipped out," Sanji said, covering his mouth. "It's just your hair is so _green_ and- what are you doing?"

Zoro had gone to his cupboard, taken out a wrapped package from the last drawer and lay it down on the bed in front of Sanji.

He wouldn't run. He _refused_ to run. No matter how stupid it was, no matter how much he wanted a quiet life without having to watch his back 24/7, he would be taking this chance.

Zoro removed the cloth and Sanji's eyes widened.

"Are those _swords_?!" Sanji asked, his eyes wandering along the beautiful sheaths of Zoro's weapons.

"Not just any swords. They are my most precious possession. It's been a while since they have last tasted some blood," Zoro said with a small smile. His fingers wandered over one of his swords' sheaths. The last fight he had used Wadou in... How long had it been since then? When did he decide to lay low and leave his old life behind again?

When he caught Sanji staring at him, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Zoro, just... who are you?" Sanji asked him, the eye that wasn't hidden by his hair opened wide.

"That is a long story. A _very_ long story we don't have time for right now."

"But what do you want to do?"

"Well, you don't have any money to give them, right?"

Sanji answered Zoro's question with a nod.

"And they won't take no for an answer?"

Sanji nodded again.

"Well, then we just have to fight our way past them."

"Are you mad?!" Sanji exclaimed, standing up and grabbing Zoro's upper arms strong enough that it was almost painful. "Zoro, you've no idea who you're dealing with!"

"I don't and, thankfully, they don't either," Zoro said. Sanji let go of him as he turned back to the bed and took Wadou into his hands. Pulling out the blade a few inches, Zoro looked at the exposed steel. It appeared as sharp as ever, the surface reflecting the window's scarce light to the opposite wall.

"Shit! This isn't a game, you know?" Sanji continued on. "They could kill you and I-"

"You?"

"I'm not worth it!" Sanji said, throwing up his hands. "I've been playing with you! Flirting so you would take me with you! You don't even know me for Christ's sake!"

"Didn't you say that I know you better than anyone else?" Zoro said with a smirk.

"You know that's not really true... I didn't mean it like that," Sanji replied, his voice now distinctively quieter.

"But I want it to be true," Zoro said. He lay Wadou back down and placed a hand on Sanji's cheek, running his thumb over his cheekbone just under the blonde's widened eye. "I don't give a damn about your reasons! I decided on something when you approached me, Cook. I want you in my life and I won't let anyone stand in my way!"

For the first time it was Sanji's turn to blush. "Cook?" he asked with a laugh. "Mine was more original... Well, you're one persistent bastard, I'll give you that. That may be what has drawn me to you, too."

They stared into each other's eyes. "Then you will fight with me?" Zoro asked as he played with a strand of Sanji's hair.

"That would be suicide, but I have an idea..."

* * *

On the other side of the door, one of the men was slowly losing his temper. His red hair, once combed neatly to his head, was now standing up, giving him the impression of a wild animal.

"Shit, I've had enough!" he said and kicked the door, his attack making the wood creak under his foot.

"You know, we aren't allowed to make a ruckus, Cake," his partner said calmly. Other than the red-head, he was the picture of patience. "This guy is trapped. Joker will get his money one way or another."

"Fuck, I hate this job, Cup!" Cake said. "What happened to beating the crap out of people, huh? I'm feeling like a fucking salesman in this stupid suit! What do you think my mum would say about that, huh? _Huh?_"

"She would shoot you."

"Exactly! She would shoot me right between the eyes," he exclaimed and this time attacked the door with his fist. "Fuck! I hate waiting! Can't we just break down the door already?!"

Cup didn't move a muscle. "Two more minutes."

"I don't get why we have to lay low like this!" Cake said. "Why doesn't the boss just kill this fucking Smoker guy?! He had no qualms shooting the glasses woman."

"Yeah, and her survival's put us into a very bad position. Try to calm down, will you?" Cup returned. "The blonde knows what happens when he doesn't pay."

Cake clenched his teeth together. "That guy is too much trouble already."

* * *

"Think we escaped?" Zoro asked as they watched the two gangsters from the other side of the street. They had climbed down the gutter next to Zoro's window and were now hiding in the alley where Zoro had parked his bike.

"Pretty much. Those two are Cup and Cake... not the brightest among all of Joker's men and certainly not the strongest. Still, it's better to avoid a confrontation."

"Wait, Cup and _Cake_?!"

"Ah, yeah. I always forget what that must sound like to other people," Sanji said. "Those are code-names. All of Joker's lackeys are named after sweets. Well, only the small fry."

"Right... right."

Zoro grimaced when, after two more minutes, Cup and Cake kicked in his door. He hadn't lived long in that place and he had always had a bag ready in case he needed to leave quickly, but any time he had to leave something behind it still left a hole somewhere inside of him.

"Where to now?" Sanji asked. "They probably know all of my contacts."

"It might be better to go to one of my friends then," Zoro said. "Not Ace. I'm meeting him too often, so they might know him. Maybe we could go to Robin? She's extremely smart and might have an idea of what to do."

"Robin? A woman? Is she pretty?" Sanji asked a bit too eagerly.

Zoro raised an eyebrow at that happy expression. "Aren't you gay?"

Sanji grinned back. "Oh, let's say I can appreciate the beauty of any gender. No discrimination made."

"Right, like I said. It's best if we go to Franky's first and then-"

"Oi!"

* * *

"This is where your friend lives?" Sanji asked as they pulled into Franky's driveway. "It looks... like a big garage."

"It _is_ a big garage," Zoro answered. "For the most part, anyway."

He took off his helmet and looked at the big, bungalow-like place.

Franky was an unusual character.

The strangest thing about him was neither his excessive love for speedos, nor the Hawaiian shirts he often chose to wear. What made Franky special was his talent for excellent craftsmanship, a skill he used with every waking moment.

Most of his place was full of machines, steel, nails and whatever else Franky needed to do what he did, but it also had everything he needed to live. Inside contained enough space for a living room, kitchen and bedroom, but that didn't mean that Franky didn't use those places to store a few tools and materials everywhere either.

Zoro's bike had been built here and the garage was a hall of wonders, where even robots were getting worked on. It wasn't exactly The Ritz but it was a better hideout than most.

At the very least, it had a ton of weapons to protect them from enemies.

"This is great," Sanji said. He smiled as he looked at the robot statues that stood on Franky's lawn, each of them holding signs like 'Keep out!', 'Shoot first, drink Cola later' and 'You're suuuuper not welcome here!'. "Your friend must be weird..."

"Trust me, he is a pervert."

"Eeeh? Are my ears deceiving me?" someone asked from inside the garage. The big built of a man appeared next to a car, wearing big goggles on his eyes and carrying a blowtorch in his right hand. "Did I just hear you complimenting me, Zoro?"

"That wasn't a compliment."

Sanji stared at the huge man. "He has blue hair," he whispered to Zoro.

"I know."

"A nose made out of metal..."

"Yeah."

"He is wearing fucking _speedos_."

"That's why he is a pervert," Zoro said explained.

Franky's eyes fell on Sanji and Zoro smirked when the cook tensed next to him. "Woohoo! Got yourself a handsome friend, didn't you?"

Sanji turned his head to Zoro. "He might be a pervert but I like him," he said, making Zoro shake his head with a smile.

"Ha, come inside, guys! Then you can tell me why you're here. For some reason, you have the scent of trouble all over you."

* * *

"So you really fucked up your life again. Huh, bro?" Franky asked Zoro as they sat together on his couch while Sanji prepared some breakfast in the kitchen. "And that guy seems to be in even more of a mess than you were a few years ago."

Zoro ran a hand through his hair, the bottle of beer in his other one clinking a bit as it bumped against the small table next to the couch. "I couldn't help it. I couldn't leave him alone and I'm fed up with running away."

"I always knew that this quiet life wasn't for you," Franky said. "You aren't a construction worker, bro, you're a fighter! You should be out there kicking some ass!"

"Shouldn't you be encouraging me to lead a decent life?"

Franky laughed out loud. "Ha! You know I love Robin and all but she has no idea about a man's romance. Not everyone is cut out for a family life with 2.5 kids. You should do what makes you happy and if that includes pissing off a few big fishes left and right, then do it!"

"Heh, Robin is going to beat me up, though."

"You can bet on that! She'll have your nuts in a pair of tongs! That woman is probably scarier than that Joker guy," Franky said as Sanji came in, carrying three plates with bacon, eggs, and grilled toast expertly on his hands and arms.

"Oh? Your Robin sounds amazing," he said and put two of the plates in front of Zoro and Franky on the coffee table.

"More than amazing. The woman is a sight to behold! Only- her humor can be a bit crude..."

"I really have to meet her!" Sanji said with a beaming expression on his face.

"Not if I can help it," Zoro mumbled.

Looking at Zoro as he took a seat opposite him in an armchair, Sanji asked, "What did you say, Marimo?" He was still grinning brightly at him, causing Zoro's stomach to flutter a bit.

"It's... nothing. Let's eat, yeah?"

* * *

On the top of a hill, a man leaned against his black car, holding a golden mobile phone up to his ear. "That's right, boss. Sanji seems to have escaped with some muscled guy," he said into the speaker. "Yeah, the name on his door was fake. A Shimotsuki Zoro doesn't exist. No, we don't have more information yet and the apartment was devoid of personal things. Looked as if he has experience in vanishing without a trace. Yes, Cup and Cake are asking around. No violence, yeah. Understood, Sir."

The man turned off his phone and looked at his subordinate inside the car. "It's your turn now. Let every post know Sanji's face and find out where he is," he said. "You know that the boss has a personal interest in the blonde, so make sure that we get him as soon as possible."

A man with big bags under his eyes looked up, a smile tugging at his thin lips. "Understood."

"Don't disappoint me, Gin."

* * *

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks again to xiggymatsu for doing an awesome job as a beta-reader! :)**  
**_

_**Notes:** 300 million yen = 2.5 million Euro or 3.3 million USD_

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Dreams were a funny thing. For most people they were shaped after the happenings of the day before, their mind processing certain events that simply managed to have a bigger impact. They often took strange forms; some so abstruse they weren't even remembered properly in the morning.

Some people, though, had the same kind of dream over and over again, their mind desperately trying to handle whatever had occurred before.

Those little dreams about the past often showed what had been buried deep inside the mind, the content heavy enough that thinking about it in waking hours would never be an option.

But at night, when the body relaxed and the mind became unguarded, those thoughts are brought to light.

For Zoro, those kind of dreams meant reliving what had happened two years ago.

Rain had fallen in that dark alley where he had stood. Drenched in blood, sweat, and rain, dead bodies lying all around him and the sudden silence almost deafening to his ears; he would spend every dream in the same place.

Sometimes he could still feel the rush of blood inside his veins, he remembered all too vividly how adrenaline had made his heart race, eyes opened wide and darting from one corner to the other in search for more enemies who aimed for his head.

But no enemies came.

They never did because Zoro had killed them all in cold blood. He had tinged the dirty road with red, scattered body parts all over the ground and was staring into lifeless eyes and empty expressions.

Behind him, he would hear soft footsteps at one point, his heightened senses making him move quickly to slay whoever dared to approach him.

Only a piercing scream managed to end that blood-lust in him, making him aware of the footsteps belonging to a young woman who looked at him with horrified eyes.

Every night she would mouth the same word. Over and over again, Zoro had to read those lips before he woke up, drenched in sweat and his heart racing inside his chest.

"_Murderer."_

* * *

Zoro lay an arm over his eyes, breathing deeply in and out. Sweat covered his forehead and behind him he heard the sounds of Franky's hammer.

He hated to have this dream. Every night, he would be forced to relive the moment when he had decided to leave his old life behind. Every night he was haunted by the same memory.

It was painful to remember. Too painful to think about it and yet his mind always carried him back to that very moment.

He was almost thankful that Franky had woken him up, thankful of being pulled away from that horrible place and back to reality.

As he heard a sound across from him, he saw Sanji stirring in his sleep as he too was dragged away from his dreams.

Zoro wondered what _he_ had dreamed about, wondered if he had lived through similar ordeals in his life that troubled him even now. He hoped Sanji didn't.

After moving his neck to the side until he heard a satisfying crack, Zoro looked at Franky behind him. There was even a workplace in his so-called living-room and now his big friend was almost manically working on a piece of metal.

Zoro sighed as he rubbed his stiff neck. Crashing on Franky's couch wasn't exactly relaxing and his friend's habit of working the middle of the night had made it difficult to get some proper rest.

"Sorry about that," Zoro said to the blurry-eyed Sanji as the blonde sat up. "I know it can be annoying."

"Don't worry about it," Sanji replied and stifled a yawn with his hand. "I don't really mind. We are imposing on him, after all."

He rubbed his eyes with both of his hands and Zoro had to stare at those long digits as they rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. They looked strong, yet delicate... so different from his own that had been drenched by blood of countless men.

Calluses from both working hard at construction sites and wielding his swords for practice had made Zoro's hands rough and unsightly.

But Sanji didn't seem to do much with his hands besides cooking delicious dishes. His hands were unscathed save for a few faint scars he most likely had gotten from cutting vegetables and other food. Zoro had also noticed how he always hid his hands in his pockets when he walked, a protective gesture that wasn't exactly surprising. The hands must be important for a cook.

A louder yawn interrupted Zoro's thoughts and he had to smile at Sanji's dishevelled appearance. The once always properly dressed man he used to stare at now looked anything but neat. With hair standing out everywhere, the pillow's imprint still visible on one of his cheeks and half-lidded eyes, he looked nothing less than adorable.

Seeing this side of him made Zoro feel that much closer to the blonde, a thought that felt nicer than he had ever expected. Didn't he use to run away from those kinds of feelings?

"As much as I like the attention, your stalker look is starting to be creepy, Zoro," Sanji said, grinning as Zoro quickly looked away. "And I would appreciate it if you weren't thinking those things about me."

"Things?"

"Oh, not the part about shagging me. I'm quite happy about that one. But you just had a look that read 'Hmm... He looks adorable all sleepy'."

Zoro grinned at that. "Reading my thoughts now, eh?"

"Only what's written on your face," Sanji replied. "But I've to tell you: I'm anything but cute."

"How come?"

Sanji smirked and reached over to the table for his cigarettes and lighter. He took out one of the death sticks and lit it up, inhaling the smoke like fresh air. "I'm a real man. One who kicks ass easily. You probably wouldn't stand a chance in a fight."

Zoro raised an eyebrow at that. Sanji had some muscles, sure, but all in all his build was rather slim. His past aside, Zoro was still training daily and got even stronger thanks to his job. To think that Sanji could beat him...

"So, you have some hidden fighting power?"

"Hmm, you can say that. You must be quite good too, though," Sanji said and nodded over to the table where Zoro's swords lay. "Having those things and being prepared to fight the Yakuza for me."

"I have a few skills, yes."

Sanji leaned forward, reducing the space between them. "I would love to see them one day... and I would love to know where you got them, too."

"Curious?"

"Dying to know, actually."

They stared into each other's eyes, both having identical smirks on their faces, and Zoro could practically hear the atmosphere sizzle between them. The playful banter made his stomach flutter and brought emotions to the surface he had long since forgotten.

"Woah, woah. That was the weirdest kind of flirting I have ever seen," Franky said as he suddenly came up to them, wiping his hands with a cloth. "But I gotta say, it's nice seeing you smiling like that, Zoro-bro. You seem to be good for him, Sanji. That guy seriously needs to get laid."

"Oi!" Zoro said.

"I'm still working on that part," Sanji said with a wink to Franky and then turned back to Zoro, lowering his voice to almost a whisper, "and I think he almost cracked."

Zoro rubbed his face with both of his hands. "Will you two stop it? We should be thinking about what to do... The Yakuza could find us at any moment."

"I've got lots of suuuuuper weapons for you," Franky said, unnecessarily pointing to a pile of cannons behind him. "We can build a fortress here."

"They have weapons too, and if Sanji is right with what he has told us, then we would have to fight many more people than we could handle," Zoro said.

"Well, for now I have to gain enough money to pay the rate..." said Sanji. "Joker is a shitty bastard but he's also a business man who keeps his word. As long as I pay him, I won't have to work for him."

"We talked about this, didn't we?" Zoro asked. "You don't want to keep going like this, right?"

"It isn't really a matter if I want to or not. Fighting back with you sounds romantic and all but I also don't want to put you and your friends in danger."

"But you can't escape them on your own, right? How much money do you owe him, anyway?"

Sanji looked uncomfortable for a moment but then he said, "... about three hundred million yen?"

Dead silence.

Zoro and Franky stared at Sanji as the words sank in. "_What?!_" they exclaimed simultaneously and then Zoro asked, "How the hell did you manage to do that?!"

"Well... that's a rather long story. About one hundred million is from my parents and the rest... I sort of assumed from a friend."

"Why did you do that?"

Sanji rubbed the back of his neck. "Joker had her whole village under control and she took the debt upon herself... I didn't want her to end up in a brothel and that's why I suggested to Joker that I'll take care of the matter. He always seemed interested in me, so he agreed pretty easily."

"And that woman just let you do that?"

"Of course not! She beat me up, actually," Sanji muttered. "But as a gentleman I couldn't just stand by while a lady was in trouble, right?"

Zoro felt one of his eyebrows twitching. Slowly, he began to get the whole range of the blonde's personality: Sanji meant trouble. Not only for other people, but especially for himself.

Did he seriously believe that a "gentleman" had to help out any maiden in distress, even if that meant taking a debt of 200 million yen? _Seriously?!_

"That woman... is she at least trying to pay you back?" Zoro asked. He was even proud of managing to leave his irritation out of his voice.

"She wants to but I could never take money from a woman."

Now Zoro's other eyebrow was twitching too.

"Didn't you have to do that at your restaurant?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I was mostly in the kitchen and didn't take cash from the costumers... only when I had to jump in for a waiter and then I always got in trouble with Zeff because I let the women eat for free."

Zoro crossed his arms and looked at Franky. "We have an idiot here, don't we?"

"Pretty much," Franky said, nodding his head in agreement. "A suuuper idiot."

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with treating a lady well!"

"No, but you took on the Yakuza to do that."

"You're taking on the Yakuza to help _me,_" Sanji said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well... yeah."

"So, you are both idiots," Franky concluded. "But what now? Any plans?"

Zoro leaned back on the couch.

Franky was right about that. They didn't stand a chance without help. If Joker really controlled all of the Yakuza, every single clan, then there simply was no escape. Not even in another country would they be safe.

Still, there might just be a way.

"Maybe... there is something we could do after all," Zoro said. "The way I see it, there are two options we have. Number one would be to pay back the money."

"And that's not possible," Franky said. "Not for us."

"Right. Option number two would be to do it the Yakuza way."

"What do you mean?" asked Sanji.

"Well, even the Yakuza have rules and traditions. There are different clans and the strongest one holds all the power. But that hierarchy can always be changed..."

"So what? You want some other clan to get the job done for us?"

"Maybe. At least they could help to reduce his power. I can't imagine them to be all too happy about being ruled by one man."

"You're right, Zoro-bro. But who would even agree to help you out? You don't know some high-ranked Yakuza, right?"

"I actually do know someone, but it won't be easy to persuade him."

"And why is that?" Sanji asked.

"The last time we met, I tried to kill him."

* * *

Sanji sat on Franky's couch, zapping through TV programs and only half listening to Zoro talking agitatedly on the phone.

The person who might be able to help wasn't easy to find and Zoro had spent the last hour calling some of his old contacts. Talking to them didn't seem to be too easy, though, seeing as Zoro's voice grew more and more frustrated.

"Dammit, Johnny! I don't give a fuck about the people you shag! Just tell me what you know! No, I don't want to talk to- Damn. Hey, Yosaku," he said dryly. "No, I- will you just...? Fine, I'm waiting."

Zoro began to pace again and Sanji found himself following him with his eyes instead of looking at the TV. He was running a hand through his green hair, taking deep breaths as if he desperately needed to calm himself down.

Seeing the man who saved him like that made Sanji uneasy.

What was he even doing there? Why did he drag these nice people into his mess?

When he approached Zoro, his intentions had been clear. All he had wanted was to sleep somewhere quiet, no strings attached. Somewhere where he didn't have to worry about shitty collectors coming for his ass and, seeing Zoro watching him day after day, he had been certain a bit of hot sex could also become part of the deal.

What he hadn't expected was to find people like these, though, people who wanted to _help_.

Why did they go that far for him? Why did Zoro bring himself and even his friends in danger just to save a complete stranger?

He didn't even want sex for his troubles, and that was something Sanji was more than ready to give.

Watching Zoro walking up and down behind the couch, talking agitatedly on the phone for his sake, the muscles in his neck tensing with every word while his hand gripped the speaker tightly-

Sanji licked his lips.

That guy managed to rile him up with every move. Holding back had been insanely difficult and he wondered if Zoro thought that all of his bold moves had been part of Sanji's plan to get him on his side.

The thought made his chest hurt.

While Sanji had learned most of his tactics from working at that host club and even used them often to get a few favors here and there, he had always been genuinely interested in Zoro.

First it had only been his body but now Sanji's whole being yearned to know more about him.

Likes and dislikes, his habits and his past was what Sanji wanted to know now; all to understand him and this strange desire to help, at least a little bit.

But wouldn't it be better to leave, so Zoro and Franky could live in peace? Shouldn't he just crawl back to Joker and take whatever punishment awaited him?

Sanji had been so sure he could solve this mess by himself. Even when he had taken Nami's debt upon himself, he still thought he could manage to pay back the money.

Over time, he had to realise that it was impossible, though. The work at Joker's host club as well as his time as a stripper in some dirty club slowly made him give up hope completely and he began to sleep at strangers' places just to escape reality for a day or two.

But Zoro had changed everything.

Could he really risk putting him, Franky, and whoever else wanted to help in danger?

"Don't think about it too much," Franky said as he suddenly came up to him. "Zoro-bro knows what he's doing."

"But what about you?" Sanji asked him. "This whole thing is putting you at risk too."

Franky laughed aloud at that. "That's something you really don't have to worry about. I'm super okay with everything and I can look after myself. All of Zoro's friends can do that."

Sanji frowned. Franky made them sound like superheroes. "Say, in the past, have you two been some sort of..."

"Gangsters?"

"I was more thinking about something like... spies or special corps or something like that," Sanji said, smiling because that thought had indeed crossed his mind.

"Nothing quite that tame," Franky said.

"But-" Sanji started but Franky laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You should ask Zoro these things, Sanji-bro. It's because of him that we quit that job and began to live a-" Franky paused for a moment as he looked around his garage. "-normal life. All of us have found something we like to do, but Zoro... he never fit in. A suuuper quiet life just isn't cut out for him. But don't worry about us, either. We can't be beaten with just a couple of guns, and for Zoro-bro, we wouldn't mind giving up this lifestyle again."

"You always say 'we.' How many are there of you, anyway?" Sanji asked.

"That depends on how you want to see it..." Franky said and began to count with his fingers. "Luffy, Ace, Brook, Chopper, Usopp - in his brave moments, anyway – Marco, I guess, and Robin."

"Robin? You want to let a woman fight?!" Sanji asked with wide eyes. The thought was preposterous! While he admired strong women, the thought of them being hurt while fighting was nearly unbearable for him.

Franky held up his hands in front of him, looking at Sanji with an amused smile. "Whoa, bro, never let her hear something like that! She would definitely kill you. Robin was an assassin in her early days, you know?"

Sanji stared at him, Franky's words forming a rather weird picture inside his mind. "Assassin?" he asked. "Like dressed in black, hiding in the shadows and-"

"Something like that," Franky said. He was still smiling at him and Sanji raised an eyebrow. Was that guy just pulling his leg?

"And you people... you've been assassins, too?" Sanji asked.

"Not exactly. I told you to ask Zoro that."

"Right... it's a bit difficult to ask, though. Some heavy stuff happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but his hatred for himself is worse than anything he did. I meant what I said, though, you know? You really are good for him. Maybe you can even help him find some peace."

With that, Franky went back to work, leaving Sanji alone with his thoughts.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Sanji watched how Zoro continued to speak quietly to his friend, rubbing his neck that seemed to be almost stiff from all the calls he had to make.

Helping Zoro to find some peace... wasn't Sanji doing the exact opposite? Didn't he make his life more difficult?

He watched how Zoro almost reluctantly turned off his phone. Catching Sanji's look, he went over to him, dropping down beside him and laying the speaker on the table.

"Yosaku is going to try and find something out. He'll call me back in a bit."

"You look exhausted," Sanji stated, taking in the circles under Zoro's eyes and how his shoulders had sacked as he sat down.

"All this information gathering just isn't really my thing," Zoro said. "I'm more the hands-on type."

Sanji smiled at him. "Really?" he asked and laid a hand on Zoro's thigh. "These last couple days you've been pretty good at keeping your hands to yourself."

Zoro looked at Sanji's hand and said, "We talked about this, didn't we?"

"Yeah, and I still don't get it. Why won't you touch me?" Sanji whispered.

"Because..." Zoro started, looking into Sanji's eyes and then away again. "If I did I wouldn't be able to stop."

"Who told you to stop?"

"I want to take it slow."

Sanji removed his hand and took a deep breath. That guy really didn't intend to make things easy for him.

Sanji wanted to ease a bit of that tension inside Zoro's body but what was he supposed to do? What other way was there to comfort someone than touching him?

It was easy with a woman. Females he would urge to talk about their problems. He would cook delicious food and hold them when they cried.

But a man? Sanji never had or even wanted to comfort one of them before and he couldn't imagine Zoro opening up to him like that. The thought of him crying in his arms even seemed laughable!

There was only one other thing he could think of...

"Then just a kiss?" Sanji asked, a faint smile on his lips as he looked at Zoro. He reached out to touch the hair on the base of Zoro's neck, letting his fingers slide through the short strands.

Zoro closed his eyes at the touch.

"F-Fine," he said, making Sanji smile as his voice caught inside his throat. "Just a kiss. But nothing- What are you doing?"

Sanji had stood up and was now placing his knees on either sides of Zoro to straddle him on the couch. He only had to move his hips and their groins would touch; a position that certainly had its advantages.

"I'm getting my kiss..." Sanji said and suddenly jerked back Zoro's head by his hair.

Zoro was completely caught off guard by Sanji's actions. He opened up his lips in surprise but his outcry was abruptly swallowed by Sanji's mouth. A hot tongue plunged inside and began to explore the warmth it found. Zoro could do nothing else but move along, his hands almost magically finding their way to Sanji's ass. His heart nearly exploded as Sanji ran his fingers through his hair, moving through the green strands much gentler than the hot kiss demanded.

This was almost too much. Too much stimulation and emotion stirring up his insides and making a mess out of his brain as he kneaded Sanji's ass and yearned for more.

He leaned into the kiss, his hand vanishing under Sanji's shirt and caressing the soft skin it found. Sanji's whole body seemed to burn under his fingertips, the movements of his mouth becoming more and more erratic as Zoro slowly found his pace and pushed back against Sanji's tongue.

Now it was his time to explore, his time to drive Sanji mad with want.

Zoro felt almost smug at this regained power but then Sanji made an unfair move. He finally ground his hips down, his groin sliding against Zoro's and eliciting a sharp intake of breath.

Zoro glared at Sanji, even more fired up by that shameless grin, and then pulled down the blonde head down for another kiss. He bit his lip, drawing a bit of blood as he involuntarily broke Sanji's skin and immediately licked off the bit of blood.

"Sorry," Zoro said but Sanji just rolled his eyes and pressed his lips back to Zoro's.

They would have forgotten all about their surroundings, would have gone far, _far_ beyond this point, if it hadn't been for that one other person in the room.

"As much as I like to watch some good gay porn in my garage, mind tuning it down a bit?" Franky's voice interrupted the heated moment, causing two pairs of hooded eyes to look at him. "I already had to burn the last couch when Marco and Ace visited last week."

Zoro and Sanji stared at him as if they had been honestly surprised to see him in his own house.

Shaking his head, Franky went back to work on some new invention, muttering something about getting a guest house.

"What a bummer," Sanji said. "Seems like we have to take it slow after all."

"Yeah... seems that way."

Sanji smiled at him and kissed his cheek before whispering in his ear, "Really too bad... you'll have to take care of this problem-" He pressed down with his hips again, earning a loud groan from Zoro. "-all on your own now. Think about me when you jerk off in the bathroom, will you?"

With that, Sanji went into the kitchen to make some early breakfast, giving Zoro a great view of that nice ass he had had in his hands just seconds before.

Two minutes later, Yosaku called him back. "Make it quick," Zoro said after receiving the call, his eyes following Sanji's every move in the kitchen. "I... really need a shower."

* * *

Sanji heaved a big sack full of junk out of Franky's garage. Zoro seemed to have gotten a decisive tip from one of his friends and watching him yelling at half a dozen people had made Sanji a bit restless. To feel less useless, he had decided to help Franky out with tidying his place up a bit.

The whole garage was filled with remnants of wood, steel and metal that had been mindlessly thrown onto a big pile until it nearly reached the ceiling.

Sanji carried the sack to the containers, starting to sort them into the right ones.

He was distracted enough by his task that he didn't realise someone came up behind him until a foreign shadow appeared on the container in front of him.

His heart leaping inside his chest, Sanji let the piece of metal in his hands fall to the ground and whirled around, his leg raised to kick his opponent's face. His mouth opened up in shock when his leg was parried by an arm, a familiar face grinning back at him.

"Gin!"

"Long time no see, Sanji," Gin said back as Sanji lowered his leg. "You didn't really think you could escape, did you?"

"How... did you find me?" Sanji's heart was beating like crazy, every cell in his body urging him to run. Only his common sense kept him from doing so, knowing that running was futile when facing someone like Gin.

"We have our eyes everywhere, Sanji. You know that," Gin said, his tired eyes looking almost apologetically.

"I'll have the money by the end of next week, alright? I just need a bit more time," Sanji said.

Gin took off his headband and looked to the side, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't want to do this, you know that. But I don't have a choice, either. Sanji, I have to use force if you don't come with me. You don't want anyone to get hurt, do you?"

Sanji looked at the ground.

No, he didn't want them to get hurt. He wasn't even sure if Zoro could find that guy he talked about and if Joker found out about his plan, if he had even the faintest idea that someone tried to oppose him, wouldn't he try to kill him on the spot? No questions asked?

No matter what Franky said, Sanji couldn't imagine ever getting a happy ending.

After Gin straightened his hair, he put his headband back on. "That green-haired guy... we got a picture of him, you know? He is already on Joker's shit-list for helping you escape," he said, his voice becoming less friendly when talking about Zoro.

"Leave him out of this," Sanji said. His heart was beating fast enough now that he barely heard his own words.

"Why would I? It's his fault I had to go out of my way and run around like a fucking headless chicken for two days," Gin said.

"I made him do it, okay? You know that I can easily persuade people to do stupid things."

"Yeah, but all your other victims were just normal guys looking for a fuck," Gin replied, an expression of disgust on his face. "Do you even know who that man is, Sanji? The name on his door was fake."

"And?"

"And we know his identity, we know what he is capable of doing. Joker doesn't like to have people around who could end up being a liability, you know that. If you care about that guy at all, then come with me. Leave him here and nothing has to happen to him."

* * *

Zoro rubbed his aching shoulder after he had ended his last call. All that talking always made him restless but at least he had managed to get a good chunk of information that way. He only had to share his plan with Sanji now.

"That guy is taking awfully long," Zoro said after waiting for a while.

Franky, who was screwing something at his workplace, scratched his ear distractedly. "Who is?"

"Sanji. It's been ten minutes since he went outside."

"You sure have an eye on him," Franky said with a whistle. "I didn't even notice he went out."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "How out of practice can you even get? You better notch up your skills, Franky. This won't be a piece of cake."

"You should just be happy about the things I build for you. This baby I'm working on right now will blow your mind, bro."

Zoro had to bite back a snarky remark. One thing that always annoyed him was how Franky couldn't shut up about wanting to build a new weapon for Zoro.

"I'm only fighting with my swords."

"Who said I was talking about a weapon?"

"You are _always_ talking about them," Zoro said with a roll of his eyes. Then he went to the door, grabbing his swords on the way. "I'll go and take a look. I have a bad feeling about this..."

He opened the door a bit but froze immediately when he heard Sanji talking to someone.

"_Alright, but promise that nothing will happen to them." _

"_So long as they stay out of our business, they won't be hurt."_

Zoro gritted his teeth.

Just as he had feared, someone had found them. He had never expected the worst case scenario to happen this quickly.

With a few deep breaths, he Zoro willed his heart to calm down.

Sanji even wanted to go with them... he was giving up. He was giving up again and didn't trust that they could help him.

With a look cold as ice, Zoro drew two of his swords.

"Zoro-bro, what-"

"Stay inside, Franky. This is gonna get ugly," he said and stepped outside.

The man Sanji had been talking to didn't waste even a second as he heard the door. He grabbed Sanji and drew a gun from his belt, pointing it at the blonde's head while he held Sanji close with his other arm.

"Let him go," Zoro said, his voice dangerously low as his eyes practically pierced his enemy. "Let him go and I won't cut you to pieces."

"Zoro, wait-" Sanji began but was cut off.

"I would like to see you try, demon hunter," the man said with a smirk. "Thought you retired but your swords look as sharp as ever."

"Don't you dare fuck with me," Zoro growled. "I'm not in a forgiving mood right now."

"Fuck! Will you guys just wait?! This is not-"

"Stay out of this," they said simultaneously to Sanji and Zoro used the moment to look at his enemy.

His trained mind, still sharp even after two years without fight, registered several things at once.

The man with the strange headband had a hand outstretched on Sanji's belly, a gesture that seemed almost protective in a situation like this. He had to know Sanji... maybe even liked him.

The other hand was the deciding one, though. That one was holding the gun, the fingers completely calm with not even the slightest tremor on the trigger. His knuckles weren't white from a too strong grip, signalling absolute control.

He didn't want to hurt Sanji, but he was also ready to pull the trigger in cold-blood. He was ready to kill.

"My boss wants Sanji alive. He won't be harmed," Gin said and Zoro could only laugh.

"And the work he wants Sanji to do won't harm him?"

Gin frowned. "How much did you tell him?" he asked Sanji.

"Nothing. They only know that I have some trouble. Nothing more."

"You know what I have to do if-"

"They don't know anything, Gin!" Sanji said, his almost desperate voice pissing Zoro off even more. "Let's... let's just go, okay? Just leave them alone."

"You just want to go with him?!" Zoro almost screamed at Sanji. "I told you I can-"

"No!" Sanji said, interrupting Zoro before he said anything else. "This is none of your shitty business, alright?"

"What happened to getting to know each other? Didn't you want to-"

"You misunderstood me," Sanji said, his voice becoming colder with every word. "I only used you, Zoro. Don't become all attached after only a few days."

Zoro's swords in his hands shook with anger. Every of his muscles seemed to tense at Sanji's words. "You really think I believe that?! I heard how you practically begged him not to hurt us!" he shouted out.

"Maybe you just heard what you wanted to hear." Sanji didn't look into his eyes. He avoided every of Zoro's looks as he wordlessly walked to the car of that stranger.

"Is your damn lovers' quarrel finished now?" Gin asked with a snarl. Sanji opened the door when they reached the car, sitting down in the passenger seat without even the slightest resistance.

Zoro was about to move when Gin's cold eyes stopped him. "Try that and our favourite blonde gets a hole in his head."

Reluctantly, Zoro stayed still, clenching his teeth together as he watched how Gin kept his gun pointed at Sanji's head even as he was already inside and smirked at Zoro as he walked around the car and opened the other door.

"You heard what he said, fucker," Gin said to Zoro. "This has nothing to do with you, so you better stay out of our way."

With that, he entered the car and drove off. Through the backlight, Zoro saw how Gin kept the gun pointed at Sanji and, unable to do anything, he watched them until they vanished out of his sight.

* * *

_To be continued... _

_I'm a bit sorry for cockblocking!Franky... a bit :P_

_Slight change: because I've gotten some hate messages on tumblr, guest reviews will be moderated for now. You can still review normally, but I've to approve them before they get published (it's enough that I have to read that crap)._

_Reviews are like my fuel, though, so please leave a few words :)  
_

_Thanks for reading and see you next time!  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks a lot to xiggymatsu who did a wonderful job beta-ing again!  
_

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Shit! They got him! Franky, they fucking got him!" Zoro yelled as he rushed back into Franky's home. He threw his sheathed swords onto the couch and began to pace in the middle of the room.

"This place is practically in the middle of nowhere!" Franky said. "How did they find him so fast?"

"I don't know! We underestimated them... Shit!" Zoro said. He ran both hands through his hair, messing up those green strands even more. "Shit... Shit, Shit! Shit! This is all my fault."

"Don't be stupid, bro. You can't keep an eye on him all the time." Franky lay a hand on his shoulder but Zoro pushed it away.

"But I should have!" he yelled. "Damn... and that guy, Gin. He doesn't seem like those bastards who came to my apartment."

Zoro went around the couch to drop down on those soft seats beside his swords.

No, Gin hadn't been some brainless thug. The way he had carried his body reminded Zoro of an assassin, a trained killer who didn't hesitate in the slightest to slit a throat or two.

Did he belong to Joker's elite? He didn't have a weird codename... at least not one that sounded like something sweet and, according to Sanji, those kinds of guys were stronger.

Zoro draped an arm over his eyes. "How are we going to find him now?"

When Franky didn't say anything for a while, Zoro removed his arm and turned to look over the couch's backrest at him. Franky was _smirking_. "What's so funny?"

"Not funny, you can call it smugness, I guess," Franky said. He reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and pulled out a little device that looked like a remote control. "To be honest: I didn't do it because I thought something like this could happen, but rather... because I expected Sanji to run away from here."

"Run away...? What are you even talking about?"

"Ha! It's a suuuper coincidence that I managed to plant the sensor just before he was kidnapped. I did it because curly-bro seemed so worried about you... This couldn't have gone better!"

Zoro stared. "Franky, you don't mean-"

"Yeah, baby!" Franky said and held up the device where a point blinked on a small display. "I planted a bug on that sweet piece of ass!"

* * *

Sanji looked out of the car's window. The beautiful landscape flew past him unnoticed as they made their way over the lonely country road. He hadn't said a word since he had stepped inside that car.

The time he had spent with Zoro and Franky... it had been nice while it lasted. Joking around with friends and being relaxed enough that he could sleep soundly at night without even worrying what would be tomorrow... Would he ever get to experience that kind of freedom again?

There was no way Joker would let him out of his sight again, not this time. Not when he had come so close to running away, so close to happiness.

"Don't be like that, Sanji. You know, I don't have a choice," Gin suddenly said, eyes fixed on the road.

"Kill or be killed, that's the shitty way it's always been, huh?" Sanji rested his chin on the ball of his hand. Eyes glazing over, a chill rocked his body as he saw the city in the far distance.

"They won't kill you."

"With the fate that awaits me... they might as well."

Gin stayed silent for a while. His hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, he shot short glances at Sanji from the corners of his eyes. "Y-You know..." he began hesitantly after some time, his voice growing quieter at the end. "Joker has been very satisfied with my work lately and... well, he might want to give me a reward soon. He often does that to... to encourage his men."

Sanji already knew where this was going. Shifting in his seat, he turned his head to look at Gin. "So?" he asked, a crease forming between his eyes as he stared hard at Gin. Rain had begun to fall again, the big drops hammering against the glass at irregular intervals.

"So... if I ask for you, then maybe-"

"You want me to become your bitch," Sanji concluded.

"No! Shit... I didn't mean it like that. I owe you my life, Sanji," Gin said, an almost desperate tremor in his voice. "I just-"

"Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"Please stop talking."

Thankfully, he did as he was told and an unbelievable drowsiness came over Sanji. Like unforgiving waves during a storm, it numbed his body, leaving only a feeling of emptiness in its wake. Turning his head back to the glass, Sanji rested his forehead against the cool surface as the car continued to fly over the bumpy road and towards his new workplace.

* * *

Zoro rushed around in Franky's garage, throwing everything back into his bag he had unpacked in the past two days while Franky typed something on his notebook.

Shirts, pants, underwear and sword polish entered his bag one after another. It would only be a matter of time until Franky found out Sanji's destination and then he had to be ready to rescue the blonde and vanish from the surface of the earth again. He had done it before, he could do so again.

After throwing another pair of socks carelessly into the bag, Zoro reached for a carefully folded shirt that lay on a chair. Slowly, Zoro picked it up and held it out in front of his eyes. Sanji's shirt... the one Zoro had given him to sleep in.

As the only one whose face wasn't known, Franky had gone and bought the blonde a few more clothes, two suits and some underwear, but Sanji had still slept in this shirt at night. His heart skipping a beat, Zoro ran his thumbs over the soft fabric and swallowed at the lump inside his throat.

He still saw that desperate look on Sanji's face. Why had he given up like that? Why hadn't he fought for his freedom?

"If you start to sniff that damn thing then you really take that stalker role too far, bro," Franky said.

Feeling his right eyebrow twitch, Zoro threw the shirt into the bag. "Oh, shut up. Any news?"

"They are driving to Tokyo and that is as much as I can tell you for now," Franky answered. The device that detected the signal from the bug on Sanji's clothes displayed coordinates he was able to check on the internet.

"Can't we just follow them already?" Zoro asked. "They can't be that far yet! If I use my bike, then-"

"You can do what? Watch how that ass takes off with your blonde again? Not cool, bro."

"And what are you saying I should do? I can't let them take Sanji away from me!"

"Oh, you sure are passionate," Franky said but an intense glare from Zoro made him cave in. "Geez, no use looking at me like that. I have a plan, okay?"

"What plan?"

"Did you already forget how these guys work, Zoro-bro?" Franky asked. "Money is everything. I'm sure they'll take Sanji directly to his new workplace."

"So?"

"So, we'll wait until he gets there and then start our rescue mission."

"They can take him to a brothel for all we know!" The mere thought disgusted Zoro.

"And you think Blondie will just do what they tell him to do? No chance, man. That one seems pretty feisty. I think he can hold out until we get there."

"If anything happens to him, then I'll get your ass for that, Franky!"

"I hope you don't mean that literally..." Franky said and at a beep, he looked down at his device. "Ah! Seems like they stopped."

* * *

Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette while he pulled back his leg. He sighed as the smoke invaded his lungs, soothing him and his fucked up mood from the inside out.

"If you think I'm going to wear this thing, then you are dead wrong," he said to a guy who lay on the ground and clutched his stomach where a kick had landed before. A blue costume was lying next to him, a few drops of blood spreading out to form dark splotches on the fabric.

Sanji placed only the top of his toes back on the ground, ready to kick the bastard several more times should he try something funny again.

"Damn you!" the man pressed out between coughs. His dark, curly hair slid over the floor as he writhed in agony. "Joker will hear about this."

Sanji's eyes were dark, unforgiving. He looked down at the man as if he was vermin, some nasty bug that ought to be crushed. "And you think he cares about small fry like yourself? No chance."

The man grimaced as a bit of blood trailed out of the corner of his mouth. He sat up, his face twisted in pain. "You damn whore-"

"That's enough, Biscuit. Go and do your damn rounds in the club," Gin said as he entered the room. His eyes weren't any friendlier than Sanji's as they looked at the man on the ground.

"But Gin, I have orders to-"

"You've new orders now. Go."

Gritting his teeth, Biscuit dragged himself up and left the dressing room, closing the door behind him with more force than was necessary.

"Returning to old habits now?" Gin said, bending down to pick up the costume that had been left behind.

"What? You thought I would be all meek now that you've got me again? I won't let that scum touch me!"

"He might be scum but he's following Joker's orders," Gin replied.

"I'm _not_ wearing this," Sanji said, pointing at the hideous oriental costume in Gin's hands. "I'm not some shitty princess and I won't dress up like one for _any_ reason!"

"You should be glad that you can work here for now, Sanji."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Sanji spit out. He crushed his cigarette between his teeth before he let it fall to the ground and stepped on it. "This 'establishment' is just the first step. As soon as a customer gets interested, you'll sell my ass in no time. I know how this works, alright?!"

"I don't want this either, I-"

"Shut it, Gin," Sanji said. "Let's just get this over with... and I'm _not_ wearing that thing."

* * *

"I'm sure he's kicking ass right now," Franky said while tinkering with some small robot in his hands. He was regularly checking Sanji's position on the other device.

Stopping to stuff his old clothes into the bag, Zoro looked at Franky. "You don't even know if he can fight."

"Don't give me that, bro. He has got the look of a fighter... and those legs of his, don't tell me you didn't notice."

Zoro grinned. "Not as out of practice as I thought, eh?"

"Kidding? I've replaced more body parts than you cut off in your life, man. I know almost as much about the human body as Chopper and those legs could crush a fucking wall!" Franky said. He then lay down the robot and typed something on his notebook. "But enough of that. They have been in the same place for more than ten minutes now and their destination is... ah, Kabukichō! Well, still better than Shinjuku-ni-chōme..."

"You think that's _better_?!"

Kabukichō was the red-light district in Tokyo while in Shinjuku-ni-chōme most of gay bars and clubs were situated.

Franky shrugged. "Thought you would like it more if Blondie gets touched by some woman than dude... Geez, put those sharp things away! I'm looking, I'm looking," he said and looked where exactly Sanji and Gin had stopped. "Seems to be a mixed host club. Oh, they have an oriental theme tonight... _nice_!"

Zoro sheathed his swords again. "What sort of host club?"

"Seems pretty posh... and it won't be easy to get in there. Only VIPs are allowed."

"Damn... what are we supposed to do?"

Franky grinned. "Well, I know one person who goes in and out of clubs like this."

"...no. You can't be serious! You know how she is, she will most definitely-" Zoro said but Franky had already picked up the phone and dialled a number.

"Robin? We could need a bit of your expertise."

* * *

Sanji glared at the man who had been leering at him for a whole of twenty minutes. After kicking three more thugs, he had managed to keep his suit on but that didn't seem to ward off any perverts. On the contrary, they seemed to be even more turned on by the skin that was hidden from them.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" the middle-aged woman who had appointed him asked, touching his arm gently and sliding even closer to Sanji on the soft booth.

She was nowhere near his type but Sanji always knew to behave in front of a woman. "It's nothing," Sanji said with a blinding smile. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit distracted. I haven't done this in a very long time."

The hand on his arm slid to his thigh as the woman sidled up even further. "Oh, how come?" she asked, her deep-red coloured lips puckered up in a way she most likely thought to be seductive. Three big and heavy rings adorned the hand on his thigh and Sanji swore that even one of those rocks could reduce his debt by a high amount.

Too bad he wasn't a thief.

Beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, Sanji decided on a rather risky move. He looked down to his hands, clasped them in his lap and willed his voice to sound sad, even depressed. "Well, you see... I- I met this guy."

"Guy?" the woman asked, her hand moving back to his arm.

"Yes, and you wouldn't believe the body he has!" Sanji said, his expression turning dreamy and then sad again. "Well, one day, I decided to approach him and then-"

Five minutes later, the woman had put a bit of a distance between them again but she practically hung on his lips.

"And you kissed him just like that?" she asked him, her revealing cleavage bouncing as she clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Sanji chuckled sadly. "Had to, didn't I? Some people just don't get a hint." The woman nodded in agreement. "And he became all hot from just that kiss! Makes you want to imagine the real thing..."

A heated look appeared on the lady's face and Sanji leaned back on his chair, putting a glass of wine to his lips. He might have just found a way of making a ton of money without even having to lose his shirt.

* * *

The delivery boy trembled as a green-haired man looked into the bag he had been instructed to bring to this place. The whole house... garage or whatever else this was, looked like some big junk yard. Only a few normal pieces of furniture gave the impression of someone living there and the two men in front of him didn't seem to be too friendly, either.

"That's ridiculous, Franky! This will never work!"

The boy jumped when the green-haired guy yelled at his friend. He had pulled out some emerald dress from the bag and was clutching Miss LeFleur's letter in the other hand.

"Come on, Zoro bro. It's the only way," Franky said. "You won't get in like this! They know your face... And I'm not exactly the club type."

"But this is humiliating! Robin is just doing this to get a good laugh."

Remembering the smirk with which Miss LeFleur had sent him off, the boy had to silently agree. He had gotten quite a few jobs from that woman and not even one of them could have been considered 'ordinary'. In fact, he began to ask himself if the extra bucks were even worth the danger, he kept getting in. Those cannons in that corner looked _deadly_.

"Well... maybe she is," Franky admitted. "But look at the bright side."

"That is?"

"...a new experience?"

Zoro grimaced and then looked at the shoes in distaste. "I'll never be able to fight in those."

* * *

"Geez, that guy did a number on you," Cracker said to Biscuit as he came back to the entrance from doing his rounds in the club.

One of his eyes was swollen enough that he could barely see and his lip had a deep cut. "Fuck you! That bastard only got me by surprise!"

"I'm not so sure about that... from what you hear about him, he is quite strong. Rumours say that Joker wants him to join his ranks."

Biscuit laughed humourlessly. "Don't be ridiculous. That bitch might be able to raise some nice money in a whore house but he isn't cut out for our business."

"Yeah, maybe... he chats just like a damn pussy. Did you see him with that pig in the club?"

Biscuit and Cracker shook with laughter as slowly, a strong presence came their way. Feeling a shudder, both of them stopped abruptly as a woman approached them. Her appearance was... _mighty_, one could say. She wore a long, emerald dress that did nothing to hide her muscular body. A green cloth was draped over her shoulders and the long, green hair swayed slightly as she looked at them with a grim expression.

Without saying a word, she pressed an id card into Cracker's hand and readjusted the bright pink bag that hang from her shoulder.

Biscuit stared up at her while Cracker looked at the card's name. "I'm sorry, Miss, but Robin LeFleur is a regular here and you look nothing like-"

An icy glare stopped him as a letter was pressed into his hands. Cracker read it quickly and said, "I- I see. You're a foreigner who wants to see our establishment but Miss LeFleur can't accompany you?"

The woman nodded and Cracker frowned. "Well, it's unusual but Miss LeFleur is a very good costumer. I think we can make an exception... if you would follow me, Miss...?"

"Green?" the woman pressed out in an unexpectedly low voice.

"Green, right. This way, please."

Biscuit stared after them, clutching his chest when they were out of sight. "I think I'm in love."

* * *

"This is ridiculous! I gained more money with my stories than I'll ever do in that room!" Sanji yelled as he was dragged to one of the back rooms.

"But this lady is a guest from our best costumer and she requested a prissy blonde. Just shut up and do as you're told!" Cracker said and pushed Sanji through the door, closing it quickly behind him.

Sanji stumbled a bit but caught himself just in time. Looking up, he spotted a green-haired woman standing with her back to him. His gaze stopped at that wide back and broad shoulders then went back to the unusual hair.

"If you laugh, I'm gonna fucking kill you, understood?" a gruff voice said and Sanji's mouth opened in shock as the 'woman' turned around.

"Z-Zoro?!"

It was indeed Zoro who glared back at him, a deep crease forming between his eyes as he crossed his arms.

Zoro grimaced at Sanji's disbelieving look. "Was the only way to get in... still can't believe it worked, though. Are all of them that stupid?!"

"B-But... you are..."

Looking down at himself, Zoro gritted his teeth tightly. "I talked to Robin on the phone and she said this was the only way to get you out," he said. When Sanji just kept staring at him, Zoro went on, "Will you just say something?!"

"...I'm strangely turned on," Sanji said. When Zoro glared at him, he held up his hands as if to defend himself from that piercing look. "N-No, really! You are like the ugliest woman ever but it's still kinda hot... seeing you go that far for me."

Zoro looked away and scratched the back of his neck. His green-coloured wig moved in time to his touch and a faint blush across his cheeks made Sanji smile. "We better hurry..."

"Well, it's not like anyone will come back any time soon."

"No, but I don't like how you're lookin' at me. This experience is traumatising enough as it is."

Sanji grinned but decided not to say anything about Zoro's appearance anymore. The simple fact that he had come for him, that he went far enough to dress up in this ridiculous outfit to avoid detection and bring Sanji away from there... it was unbelievable and simply amazing.

Swallowing against the knot that had formed inside his throat, Sanji said, "W-We can't just walk out of here, though."

"Funny, that's exactly what I have in mind."

With a dirty grin that couldn't mean anything remotely good in Sanji's eyes, Zoro opened his big bag and pulled out some hideous pink dress and a blonde wig.

Realising at once what this meant, Sanji yelled, "You're fucking kidding me!"

"Not at all. Be ready, Princess. Our diversion will start in five minutes."

Cursing and not even bothering to ask, Sanji loosened his tie and then wriggled out of his suit. His cheeks flushed when Zoro kept watching him and he could only see the shameless behaviour as payback for his earlier amusement. Now standing in only his boxers in front of the green-haired idiot, he cursed again when Zoro handed him that dress.

"This is the shittiest, most fucked up rescue mission the world has ever seen!" Sanji said as he yanked the fabric out of Zoro's hand and threw it over his head, fidgeting so it would fall over his body. Once the dress had settled, Sanji was surprised how well it fit.

"Don't just stand there looking pretty! Put on the wig! We still have to shave your chin," Zoro said impatiently.

"What?! Hell no!"

"Don't be such a fucking priss. Do you wanna get out of here or not?"

"This is humiliating," Sanji said but obediently put on the wig and took the razor Zoro had just tugged out of the bag. With practised ease he removed the bit of stubble on his chin.

"All gone?"

"Pretty much," Zoro answered. "Now only the shoes," he pointed at a pair of pink heels he had placed on the ground, "and some make-up. Then we're ready to-"

"_Make-up?! Are you fucking kidding me?!_"

* * *

Cracker chewed on a piece of gum as he checked his phone for messages. He had been told to watch the door where that feisty blonde served the weird green-haired chick. They often had people in that place who needed special watching. Indebted businessmen, drug addicts and anyone else who thought they could make a fool out of their boss were forced to work in this kind of environment if they looked remotely good.

Cracker didn't know that blonde's story but he had given Biscuit and some other punks quite the beating and that didn't seem like something one of those office sitters or junkies could do.

But whatever the guy's occupation had been or what he had done to get that debt, it didn't really matter here anyway. They all ended up the same way.

Grinning as he discovered a new message from one of his girlfriends, Cracker noticed neither the cursing nor the bangs and clattering that suddenly came out of the room he was supposed to watch. He was too engrossed in sweet promises of skimpy lingerie and cheap champagne.

What he did notice, though, was the smoke that suddenly exploded out of a room to the right. Holding his arm in front of his face, Cracker slipped the phone back into his suit pocket and ran to the source of the commotion.

Several people had begun to panic, running aimlessly around in search for the exit.

"Calm the fuck dow- I mean, dear customers, please don't panic! We have everything under control!" he yelled against the stream of people but was completely ignored.

Just as he helped up a plump lady that cursed at him in French, the door behind Cracker opened and two well-built women slipped out.

Carefully, they made their way through the crowd, walking slowly so no attention would fall on them. When they reached the exit, however, the green-haired woman was stopped by a hand on her muscular arm.

"Y-You are going already?" Biscuit asked and Sanji quickly looked down to hide his face. "I- I mean, there isn't really a fire! I know what fire smells like, s-so there isn't."

"_'Course you know what fire smells like... you're usually the one to start it!" _Sanji thought but kept his head down.

"Can't you stay a bit longer?"

The longing in the thug's voice made Sanji look up a bit. Damn... did that bastard really develop a crush on Zoro? He suddenly liked the bruises he had placed on Biscuit's face even better.

"We've places to be," Zoro said and Sanji nearly keeled over. The idiot didn't even try to change his voice.

Biscuit didn't seem to notice anything, however. He kept staring at Zoro with admiration. Maybe even more than before...?

"Then let me escort you and your friend to your-"

"No need. Fuck off," Zoro said and now Sanji really stumbled. Only Zoro's hand on his shoulder kept him from falling down.

"Too bad," Biscuit said, his eyes unusually bright. "See you later?"

Zoro didn't answer but just kept walking with Sanji close to his side.

"You sure you don't want to give that guy your number?" Sanji asked. Thanks to the adrenaline rushing through his body, the whole situation seemed even funnier to him.

"One more word and I'll cut you up," was Zoro's short reply as he dragged Sanji along behind him.

"You don't have your swords, Marimo."

"You would be surprised at what I can do with my bare hands."

"Well, you sure break hearts with your female side," Sanji said, cracking a smile.

"Oh, just shut up. Don't make me regret saving your ass," Zoro said. When they reached an alleyway that was out of sight from the host club, Zoro pulled off the wig and rummaged in the bag for his cell phone. Once he had found it, Zoro typed a short message to tell Franky where he was supposed to pick them up. "Damn that Franky... he went too far with the smoke. I bet someone called the fire department."

"How did he even do that? And how did you find me in the first place?"

"He built some small robot. I dropped it on the floor just before I entered that room. As for how I found you..." Zoro said and reached into the bag again. He pulled out Sanji's suit jacket and ran his fingers under its lapels until he found a small device. "Franky bugged you," he said, holding up the small sensor for Sanji to see.

His eyes widening, Sanji felt his heart drop to his stomach all of a sudden, followed by a strong wave of relief. Everything suddenly sank in. Every fucking thing.

He was out... _safe_. Zoro had saved him.

"Franky will pick us up in a bit," Zoro said after checking his phone again. He gave Sanji a concerned look when he got no reply. "You alright?"

"I-"

"_Watch out!"_

Zoro pushed Sanji out of the way and against the wall as a tonfa flew past him, missing his head by only a few inches. His heart racing, Sanji followed the weapon to its owner. "Gin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he cried out.

"I can't let you get away again! Not this time!" Gin's face was distorted in an angry grimace. He glared at Sanji and then began to attack Zoro, his tonfa crushing against Zoro's arms as he protected his body.

"Stop it!" Sanji yelled when he saw Zoro gritting his teeth together to keep from shouting out in pain.

"Fuck you! I'm done with playing nice!" Gin yelled back and kept attacking the unarmed swordsman. Relentlessly, he slashed out, the attacks strong enough that deep gashes appeared on Zoro's arms. Blood dripped to the ground as Zoro tried to find an opening.

"Stay back, Sanji. I'll deal with him," he said but Gin's attacks kept pushing him back.

Gritting his teeth together and clenching his fists tightly at his sides, Sanji glared at both of them.

_How dare they... how dare they...!?_

His dress flaring up, Sanji's leg shot through the air and was only barely stopped inches away from Gin's face by one of his tonfa.

"Don't," Sanji pressed out, putting more and more force behind that kick. "Treat me." Gin's arm began to tremble. "Like." His eyes widening, Gin used his other arm as well to wield off the attack. "A fucking _Princess_!" Sanji cried out and Gin was pushed back. He crashed into the wall, his head hitting hard stone and body slumping to the ground.

Taking a deep breath and placing his foot back to the ground, Sanji glared at the wide-eyed Zoro. "Got anything to say, Marimo?"

Zoro looked down at the motionless form of Gin on the ground and then back at Sanji, his mouth forming a small 'o'.

"I- I think I want that duel now."

Eyebrows raised, Sanji slowly went to retrieve one of his cigarettes out of Zoro's bag and immediately lit it up. Head turned upwards, he blew out the smoke. "Let's get out of these shitty dresses first. Then I'll play with you as long as you like."

* * *

_To be continued..._

Do I have to apologise for this chapter?

... nah XD

And before I get more desperate messages: Yes, there will be smut very very soon.

Thanks for reading! :)


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